Where happy Tales come true

Well it's almost Christmas and things are happening here in Franklin.  The tree is trimmed, the lights are up, and the Christmas cd is playing as I write this story.  

Our beloved Max died in September and we have been missing him so much.  He was such a blessing to our home.  Our grandchildren loved him so much and they miss him too.  He was perfect for our family and the grandchildren had so much fun with "Maxie".

Our Maxwell 2004-2012

Well, that's where this story comes in.  Jean and I have been missing Maxie so much and knowing you can't replace a dog who was such a great companion and friend with unconditional love for us, we thought we would think and pray about a new puppy to see what happens after the holidays.  

Wellie (SHORT FOR WELLINGTON) and me

On Saturday, I was in the Cool Springs area shopping and I got a call from Jean saying she was at Happy Tales at the Factory Mall in Franklin.  She said  they had the cutest two-year old basset they had just rescued from a local shelter.  I told her I would be over there immediately.  Well Look what we found.  He had been on his "last" day at the shelter when Happy Tales found him.  The shelter will hold a dog for fourteen days before putting them down and He was on his fourteenth day.  Amazing in itself.  

I can't say enough about Happy Tales Humane Shelter (Where truly Happy tales come true).  Happy Tales had a vet  check him out, gave him all his shots, and implanted an identification micro-chip.  They also were very thorough in checking us out (a four page application) to make sure Wellie was destined for a good home. You can check them out on their website (Happy Tales Humane Shelter ) in case maybe you would like to adopt a good pet or make a donation to there cause for Christmas.  If you're on facebook, pls like Happy Tales facebook page.

The rest of the story is in progress but so far so good and we are loving him so much.  Thanks Happy Tails and Merry Christmas to all!

Happy to be home for Christmas

I love summer! Summer is a time of fun for the family. Don't get me wrong because we have special times all seasons of the year but summer seems to provide more opportunity to get together. Days are longer and warmer for outdoors activities.

One of our special times this summer was the 4th of July weekend.

We were all together for the long weekend. We swam, we ate, we fed the fish at the lake and just enjoyed each other's company. The kids loved just being together.

ANTICIPATION!!

Today we are traveling to Decatur, Il to see our other two grandchildren (ok, and their parents, Ha, ha). We have had several days of great weather and managed dust off the clubs and play several rounds of golf and today will be the best weather of all. Nice day for travel to Decatur. I hope the warm weather will follow us up.

Speaking of Decatur, it's amazing how quickly our children grow up. It seems like almost yesterday when we were rushing up to meet our little baby girl being born and I'm referring to Isabelle and now she's 4 years old.

Now we have another, Adalyn and she brings us so much joy.

Addy is the youngest at 9 months and she and her big sister are a delight to be around. It seems she grows a ton from each time we see her and we try to see her each month. She is now crawling, eating meat (even though she doesn't like meat very much as the video above will testify). She laughs a lot, plays with her big sister and loves to take naps with her daddy. Yes, Addy is such a joyful addition to our family.

Frankie's first basket!

Just another side note, Our 5 year old grandson just made his first basket in a basketball game. As a matter of fact, he made 3. Frankie is full of energy and always ready to play. We usually practice with him on Wednesdays when his Mom is working at her real estate job. We knew it was just a matter of time.

Later...

GFP

OK, so enough of this snow (but)

I love golf and this winter hasn't been a golf friendly winter in Franklin. I even tried to play in Florida but the winter cold and wind followed me there too.

But, since I'm not in control of the winter or the temperatures I've decided to enjoy the day no matter what the weather brings and with that I find even more blessings of life.

We had another snow this past week and with our grandchildren out of school, we decided to have a play day in the snow. We had a wonderful day walking with the dogs, throwing snowballs, exploring the woods, and finally enjoying a "hot" cup of chocolate. It was a great day and we enjoyed our little ones so much. I have shared some of the pictures on my facebook account but here are some additional ones I snapped.

Our dog Max (the basset) has bad feet, bad back, and besides that, a little lazy. He loves the beginning of the walk but after just a few minutes he starts lagging back. On the other hand, Misty (the miniature dachshund) is always ready for a walk (run - her legs are shorter). She's a leader and will not be left behind. Our grandchildren love to take them for walks, especially in the snow.

The fish were scarce this day but we still had fun walking, running and just hanging out.

Well, I hope you got the idea. We love having our over. It is such a blessing to watch them grow and explore and have fun.

More later...

GFP

My Wall of Love

As you can tell from browsing my facebook profile, pages you will note I love pictures and video. I even have a special wall where I hang "Special" pictures, drawings, or other projects created by my grandchildren. It's special to me and provides me memories of special days and occasions with my family. Well We just had another special day in the birth of my new granddaughter, Adalyn Malia Patterson. Adalyn came as no surprise but she did surprise us on the day she was born. During the pregnancy it was discovered that her mommy, Kristin, had a condition which prevented a natural birth and c-section was in order. The date was all set and we were prepared to go up on a certain date and come back several days later after everything had settled down. Then the condition cleared up and back to the original due date (estimated of course) but God decided he was ready to present his new creation to the world. That created a little excitement (even to the extent of not getting the name correct on a hurried phone call from our son). After sending our numerous emails with the incorrect name, we found our error (on facebook believe it or not) and tried to resend corrections all around. Anyway it was a blessed day and we are so excited to have the newest addition to our family.

Welcome to the world Adalyn. We have loved you even before you were born (Ps. 139:14 - I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well) but we love you even more now. We look forward watching you grow up and seeing what plan our Heavenly Father (For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer. 29:11) has for you. A special plan that only "you" can fulfill. We will watch every day to see this blessed plan.

I love you Adalyn.

Granddaddy

Looking Forward To a New Golf Season

It's currently sunny out side but the thermometer reminds me that spring hasn't sprung yet. With all the talk about global warming, I think I heard somewhere that we are experiencing one of the coldest winters on record. However, my golf clubs are all clean, my power caddy is all charged up and I'm all set for what I am expecting to be a fantastic summer at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tn. (http://www.golfwesthaven.com/)

It seems I have been waiting for a while to be able to enjoy what Golf Magazine has rated one of the greatest golf courses in the country. I've watched this course from it's inception and watched as Mr. Arthur Hills meticulously manipulated the construction to see his creativity become a reality. In the early stages of construction I regularly road my bicycle over the layout observing the changes and literally watched as the course blossomed into shape.

It was amazing watching as the rolling fields of Historic Franklin became luscious manicured fairways and greens for our new golf course. Eighteen holes of terror or elation, depending on how you play the hole. But all in all a golfer's paradise where the only disturbance may be a deer running out of the neighboring woods or the flutter of wild turkeys frolicking in the neighboring greenland - (notice I didn't mention houses or highly traffic areas near the course).

This video will give you a glimpse of the early stages of the course under construction.

This is a view of number one tee moving southwest from the clubhouse area. With four tees , a challenge for any level golfer. The key is to hit a nice drive to enable you to see the green for your approach.

Same view looking from number one tee after completion.

Historic wall guards the elevated green from golf carts.

Wow! Am I excited. Although like I said previously, it's 40 degrees now but the calendar assures me that in a few weeks I will be walking my five miles +, enjoying the birds singing in the trees and the beautiful eruption of spring all around while enjoying one of the greatest games ever invented.

Getting ready for Golf - FORE!!

It's going to be a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well, here we are Jan. 6th of a new decade (2010). I guess I need time to reflect on my blessings as we all tend to dwell on the shortcomings of each other rather than the positive things. We don't like the government, or the way someone just cut us off in traffic, or gas prices... well you get my drift.

I just wanted to post this thought of BLESSINGS as we start off the new year. I am truly blessed! Especially with My Family. My family is most special to me and I am truly thankful for the Christmas we had this year. I loved watching the kids waking up at 4:30 am, just to be sent back to bed for another two hours (even though they couldn't sleep). It was fun waking to the sound of my Granddaughter racing into our bedroom at 6:30 am exclaiming that Santa had been in our house and we must get up and see what he brought. I must say that our days we shared with our family during the holidays were SPECIAL to me and I look forward to the next time we can all be under the same roof for the next special occasion. I hope that I can keep this same spirit of appreciation of how God has richly blessed me and my family. We intend to enjoy each moment and cherish the special times we have in 2010.

2 Cor. 9:15